Merritt Wever Totes Deserves That Emmy, Here’s 10 Reasons Why

Emerald Pellot

Merritt Wever won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series last night and I was one of the few people who a) knew who she was and b) thought she totally deserved it. You might recognize her as Schmidt’s college girlfriend, Elizabeth, on New Girl or as Lena Dunham’s friend in Tiny Furniture but last night she won for her amazing role as Zoey Barkow on Nurse Jackie.

You see, a few years ago I began watching Nurse Jackie. The Showtime series starring Edie Falco as a nurse, who is also a secretive drug addict, was one of the few shows that kept me at the edge of my seat. It was so intense that the folks at Nurse Jackie knew they needed some serious comic relief: enter Merritt Wever. From the very first episode of Nurse Jackie I watched, I immediately thought: Wow, this actress is so good. What else has she done? Has she won any awards? She’s going to be huge.

Yet, season after season, there was little talk of Merritt Wever ever winning an Emmy. I’d read Nurse Jackie recaps at the A.V. Club who would praise her performance as the ambitious, boisterous and witty nurse Zoey. After five seasons of Nurse Jackie, last night Merritt Wever took home an Emmy and she was just as surprised as everybody else. Since its first three seasons, Nurse Jackie has sort of fallen apart plot wise but Merritt has always consistently given great performances. I couldn’t be happier that someone as funny and convincing as her is getting recognition, even if it is overdo.

I mean just look at Merritt Wever’s “speech,” from last night. It perhaps maybe the most incredible speech in Emmy Award history.

Unlike Anne Hathaway who was only pretending to be shocked during Oscar/Golden Globe season where she knew she was going to win all the things for her role in Les Miserable, Merritt is actually overwhelmed, shocked and is all, like, “THIS IS TOO MUCH, KTHXBYE!” Love this girl. Here is why Merritt Wever as Zoey Barkow is the fucking greatest.